The regional pushback against Metro and their heavy-handed smart-growth agenda is both amazing and welcome.

Rex Burkholder accused me of not beleiving in democracy. His reasoning was that since liberals get elected everyone must embrace liberal views.

My response is that too often electeds like Burkholder view their election as a mandate to impose their will on the people, rather than a responsibility to represent the people.

Another Metro concilor recently said "Metro is here to determine what communities want and then help them attain it".

To which I respond BWAHAHAHAHA.

oops... believing... typo

The quote from anti-voter Hostica says it all.

"Carl Hosticka, a legislative candidate and the Metro councilor representing that area of Washington County, said it might sound good to say that the people should have a say on the matter.
But giving voters in each city an effective veto on a regional transit project is "undemocratic," he said, adding that a project "could be held hostage by a small group."

He thinks public voting is undemocratic. Nice campaign slogan for him.

Hostica and company don't want to accept that their local "ruling government class" is the "small group" fringe holding the mainstream voting public hostage with their imposed policies which voters would never support.

The multiple elections in Clackamss County wining by over 70% make it perfectly clear who the mainstream is. It's not the Urban Renewal, light rail, density, sustainability sector.

As those SW corridor city initiatives move forward and produce the same results there is nothing Hostica and his Metro fringe can do about it but recycle all of the same disparaging remarks that have been launched at the Clackistanis over the past year.

FYI

There's a big Clackistani party tomorrow night. The chief petitioners for the Clackamas Rail vote initiative are hosting an evening of appreciation celebration and camaraderie. 500 expected!
Anyone interested is welcome.
Friday March 16th from 6:00 pm - 12:00pm at the Milwaukie Elks Lodge
13121 Southeast McLoughlin Boulevard

Buffet dinner available for $10.00, no host bar, band, elvis impersonator and a few short videos or slide shows.

And while you're there tour the Elks facility and become a member.

Help save it from county plans to demolish it for section 8 housing.

Well, I accuse Rex Burkholder of not believing in basic accounting. Let's see which collapses first, skyrocketing spending or economic fundamentals.

Don't worry, pretty soon the Gang in Charge will be too broke to even pretend to be able to offer a subsistence level of construction graft.

There won't be anything left for the special grants, matching one-time funds, or the other Federal gewgaws that make the whole scam even remotely possible.

Then the construction barons won't be able to make their obligatory poltical contributions, and then there will be no reason to placate them, and then, and then ...

uh... Well, I can always dream.

Truth is, politicians never lose badly enough to give up altogether. So we must make them stop by chasing them from office, and then closing that office.

The Metro experiment has failed, and should go gently into that good night. Now let the pols find a cushy sinecure, if they still can...

Sorry, I'm just feeling emboldened this morning. =-)

The pushback may be amazing and welcome, but it’s very sad it had to come to this. So many have gone before city councils, metro, and other government bodies, just to be condescendingly told "thank you for your comments". Meanwhile, their agenda continued as planned despite any or all objections.

The O article by Mapes still seems to perpetuate the myth that public resentment toward these poorly planned projects is held only by a fringe conservative group. The truth is that the resentment over what has been deemed “smart growth” by those who poorly plan is spread across a wide range of people, with differing political viewpoints.

Calling it smart doesn’t make it so. Calling it poor planning rather than manipulation for profit is just being kind.

I moved out of Portland several years ago, partly to get away from the "smart" growth, light rail mentality.

Now that Metro is taking aim at "Tigard and beyond" I'm delighted to hear that the the Clackistani Rebellion is coming to Washington County.

Steve, you and I can stand in the middle of Hwy 99 arms linked when they come to lay the rails.

I'm really glad to see "The WC" is getting in on the Clackistani action--it's about time. I'd love to see a full-on "light rail revolt". If we can get the feds to kill off the matching grants on the Mystery Train, it's all over for Psychedelic Rex and crew.

The whole point of Metro is to allow the Portland political class and planners to control the whole region.

How dare you think that peasants outside of Portland should have a say about anything!

Liberals have never believed in democracy. That is why they consider themselves to be elite. They think they know better than anyone else what is needed. They also think that we should be thankful for their wisdom and leadership.

Castro still thinks he is leading a revolution in Cuba. He will never admit that he has impoverished an entire nation. Sam, Randy, Bowtie, etc are incapable of admitting that they have caused widespread economic harm to this region. Even if you provided them a thick document that was vetted by a Nobel prize winning economist they wouldn't believe it. They are incapable of honest reflection and critical feedback.

Here is a great title: 3-390 Charter Amendment Clarifying Urban Renewal Procedures for City

Folks must be fools if they oppose "clarifying".

"Liberals have never believed in democracy."

Let's be fair. That may be the case for the far left deep blue liberals but hardly all liberals.

This very blog is proof there are plenty of level headed liberals. At least when it comes to most public policies that affect most people. They have been given a bad rap because so many of the Sam Adams, worst liberals managed to get into so many positions of power and influence.

This growing rebellion and winning right to vote elections by over 70% involves many fine voting citizens who may be liberal or liberal leaning.
They get it just like the AFP or teaparty folks at the other end.

So let's not discourage bipartisan rebel recruitment and participation with that kind of rhetoric. There are plenty of other opportunites to bash each other.

And who knows maybe this movement will cure some of divisive ailments.

Andy, you are painting with too broad a brush.

The term "liberal" is an easy label to lob at someone that doesn't seem conservative enough to you on an issue. It may score points on some talk radio shows, but it isn't very helpful for constructive dialogue.

The Clackamas Urban Renewal measure passed by 70% with more Democrats voting than Republicans. Many of those Democrats who supported a right to vote on urban renewal probably consider themselves "liberal" (at least on some issues).

Obtaining a right to vote on controversial and expensive local projects is less about conservative vs. liberal than it is about requiring public accountability from our elected officials.

"They get it just like the AFP or teaparty folks at the other end."

It was interesting to note in Mapes article that the Koch Brothers funded AFP was providing backing for this effort.

Agreed: labels such as "liberal" and "righties" are often lobbed around like grenades, when in fact concepts such as fiscal responsibility and sound policy are near and dear to the hearts of people of all persuasions.

This is why Randy Leonard, with his scheming diversions of public funds, is so widely reviled.

There is absolutely no justification for water rates to increase by 285% in less than 20 years, but Leonard and others have seen to it - and as a result, the city loses several hundred good-paying jobs.

The only way to stop them is to cut the purse-strings, as we're seeing in Clackistan and now in Washington County. Light rail lines were voted down twice after the Portland-Gresham lines, yet they found ways to ignore the stated will of the people, and they built them anyway.

Metro asked to build a Convention Center, and voters assented. When that didn't work out, Metro came back with a request to double the OCC's size, which voters rejected. Metro found ways to double its size despite the will of the people. It's still a failure.

Only by cutting their access to funding can these maniacs be slowed or stopped.

Dave Lister:Rex Burkholder accused me of not beleiving in democracy. His reasoning was that since liberals get elected everyone must embrace liberal views.
JK: Hey Rex,
if you believe so much in democracy, why did you lie to the voters with your deceptive ballot measure back in 2002?
You know, the one that sabotaged the genuine neighborhood density limit and would have crimped your ability to force condo bunkers into our neighborhoods.

Thanks
JK

"It was interesting to note in Mapes article that the Koch Brothers funded AFP was providing backing for this effort."

Is that what it said? No.

It did say this:
"Activists, including several connected to the local Republican Party and Americans For Prosperity, are in the beginning stages of working,"

So how do you know there is any "backing" coming from AFP or the Koch Bros?
Well you don't. And since there isn't you couldn't possibly know.

That leaves you hanging with the fringe trying to taint the rebellion with the same made up crap the Clackistanis have faced.

But let's suppose there was some pittance of assistance form AFP or Koch bros or some business guy from Nevada.

So what is that supposed to mean? That the petition signatures are no good? That the right to vote is less? That the results of the elections are tainted? Or that those donations are not as clean as politicians and tax money TriMet and Metro devour while rolling over the public.

Can you explain your distortion of what was in the Mapes piece?

Thanks for all the feedback that our local issues, especially mass transit/urban renewal, are not conservative or liberal issues, as I've posted several times.

The Initiatives/Measures of Clackamas Co., Boring, Damascus, Milwaukie, Estacada and soon to be Milwaukie, LO, then Tigard, King City, Sherwood and more are all to do with the right to vote. If METRO, TriMet policies don't change soon, I forsee similar Measures coming to Multnomah Co., and even City of Portland.

I suspect we'll be inundated by most media, like Redden with the Tribune and Mapes with the O, and politicians like Hostica, with phrases like:

"small group of rebels"

"slight majority of people voted for ..." [while over 78% voted for it]

"fringe group"

"naysayers"

"conservatives"

"Measure money coming from..."

"...hidden agenda..."

"voting is undemocratic"

Over 1.5 Million people live in the tri-county area, but we have maybe 200 leading politicians, bureaucrats, planners determining our fate. And most of them think they are the democratic lot and voting is undemocratic.

EVERYONE I canvassed in my area was eager to sign the Clackamas County rail-vote petition. I don't know their political affiliations or their views on social issues, I just know we all agree that government - state, Metro, and city, has become bloated and corrupt, overreaching their original mission and intent. It's human nature not to want to be controlled, manipulated, told how to live. These aren't exclusively liberal or conservative values - not sure what a progressive or ultra right winger believes, but the majority lives somewhere in the middle, and we don't want what they are selling. If this is what it takes, this is what we have to do.

Sign me up for this in Tigard.

TriMet has threatened to cut 94 service into Tigard, and now is going to split the 12 route so one cannot travel from one end of Tigard to another end on one bus. Tigard could for a tiny fraction of the cost of a MAX line split from TriMet, form its own bus system throughout the town, provide true "local" service to many areas that don't have any TriMet service today, with brand new buses, and commuter bus service to Portland on brand new, dedicated, comfortable motorcoaches.

And do so at less cost to Tigard businesses that pay a payroll tax that largely supports Portland service, while leaves most of Tigard lacking good transit. And building a MAX line won't improve service - but it will remove capacity on one of the state's busiest highways, turning Tigard into a huge parking lot.

I bet a lot of cities can pull out of the Trimet system and do better by their citizens. But you won't get all that lovely multimodal transportation that's called for in your comprehensive plans. Change your local government at the same time you change the law.